Yet the most chilling thing happened.
Roland and the others pressed onward—but not a single monster remained in sight.
What on earth was going on?
It felt like a full-scale beast tide had erupted.
But this wasn’t the season for such an uprising…
Could something truly massive have occurred at the northern entrance?
“…”
Roland’s group spoke little. With no monsters blocking the way, their pace quickened.
Before they realized it—
they stood before a colossal tree.
Over a hundred meters tall, its base hollowed into a massive cavity.
The air hummed with thick, wild aura.
“This is the Lionbite Shark’s lair,” Roland declared.
Thuke’s eyes widened in shock.
“T-then shouldn’t we run?!”
“It’s already gone.”
Autumnwater stepped inside first. The ground was damp earth—less swampy, yet still treacherous.
She pointed to nearby scratch marks.
“The Lionbite Shark vanished with the others.”
“Is that so?”
This time, Thuke frowned, pinching his nose.
“But… why can I still smell that strange stench?”
“Stench?”
Roland and Autumnwater—clearly not beastkin—couldn’t distinguish the lair’s natural musk from waste.
Thuke jabbed a finger inward. “Inside. So foul.”
“…”
Roland and Autumnwater exchanged a glance. Wings spread, they leaped over the mud and landed at the hollow’s mouth.
“Hey, you two!” Thuke yelped. Before he could complain, Roland raised a hand for silence.
“This…”
“Ah, I see,” Autumnwater murmured. “It’s… a cub. The Lionbite Shark’s offspring.”
“If we take it back, it’d fetch a fortune,” Roland muttered.
“But obviously, that’d make the Lionbite Shark chase us out of the Black Forest just to kill us.”
“So what’ll you do?”
“We’ve come this far.”
Without hesitation, Roland pulled a pet-sized cage from his Spatial Storage Ring. While the cub slumbered, he gently scooped it inside.
Amusingly, the cub didn’t stir—still fast asleep.
“…Are you two done yet?” Thuke crossed his arms, uneasy. For a monster’s territory, the silence was unnerving.
“Hm?”
Thuke froze. He followed the scratch marks leading north…
Then circled the mud patch.
Stopped after a few steps.
“Hey… HEY! ROLAND!”
Roland and Autumnwater retreated instantly. They found Thuke at the hollow’s rear—the path to the northern exit—and hurried over.
“What is it?”
“Didn’t you say Miss Agnes and the others entered from the southwest?” Thuke pointed: massive footprints, violently uprooted trees to the west, a deep pit carved by a huge monster.
2
Agnes, Xue Die, and Tina’s relentless magical barrage would overwhelm even a Rank B monster. Their coordination was flawless—as if rehearsed.
Sasha played bait.
Whether the monstrous crocodile fixated on her or not, the moment Sasha landed, it charged recklessly.
Had it caught the Elf scent on her?
Regardless, this let the three mages unleash spells freely.
“Time to end this!”
Sasha landed alone on the swamp. Without Tina’s wind magic, she’d sink slowly.
Luckily, Tina was ready.
“Ice Twelve: Frost Path.”
A frosty path shimmered above the muck—Sasha’s foothold.
But it also blocked the crocodile’s retreat.
The beast slammed into the ice. Cracks spiderwebbed—but held. Forced to detour.
One moment was enough.
Sasha clenched her right fist.
*“Sasha, as an Elf, your innate talent is formidable. Swordsmanship? Superfluous.”*
Master Gudao’s voice echoed.
*“Master one punch. It shatters all obstacles.”*
Its name:
*“Corebreaker.”*
Corebreaker Fist!!
Faith Power surged from her Faithhunter Goggles.
Twenty. Rising—she felt it.
Thirty!!
Stopped at thirty-five.
No more. The crocodile was in range; delay meant escape.
Cornered, it lunged, jaws gaping like an abyss.
DIE!!
THUD!!
White light flashed. The punch pierced mouth and skull alike. Faith Power crushed soul-deep. The frozen swamp boiled, bursting a crater.
The monstrous crocodile—annihilated.
Sasha stared at her fist, stunned.
That punch used no Elf power—only Faith Power channeled through Corebreaker Fist.
Five years of training. Never skipped.
First time witnessing such devastation.
Even Tina flinched.
“Even with Faith Power… little Sasha is truly…” Agnes recalled her past teasing. *What if I angered her?*
“Crit damage maxed out!” Xue Die clapped, grinning mischievously.
“Wait…”
Sasha’s pupils tightened. No time for awe.
*As Roland, she had seen… a cub in the Lionbite Shark’s lair.*
Moreover—
“We leave NOW!” she snapped.
“That commotion? The Lionbite Shark’s coming this way!”
That was the excuse.
Truth was, Sasha knew with chilling certainty:
The Rank A monster Lionbite Shark
was already racing straight for them.
